1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to corner guards for projecting wall junctions. More particularly, the disclosed device relates to a removably engageable corner guard having translatable extension sections configured for employment to protect a corner junction having uneven or stepped surfaces such as around a wall corner on a stairway between adjacent stair steps. In addition, the device employs means for engaging a plurality of such device to form partial or full rectangular shapes for engaging around pillars, pylons, columns, and the like, or simply to form a stand alone barrier.
2. Prior Art
Corner guards for wall junctions are employed in residential and commercial buildings to protect the surface structure and aesthetics of a wall junction at a corner. Such devices are conventionally used where abrasive or impacting contact is anticipated with corner surfaces of building walls such as an accidental bump or scrape of a dolly or furniture during transport thereof past the wall surface. Such abrasive impacts often occur when moving furniture, using dollies or carts to transport objects, and scuffing from a person's shoe, the dragging of extension cords or hoses, and many other reasons.
In particular, it is especially well known that professional carpet cleaning services employ heavy duty drain and pressurized hoses which must navigate around corners, doors, and up and down stairs in a serpentine path within the home or building in order for the user to position equipment within the room to be cleaned. During such cleaning sessions, the hose will often come in contact with one if not many of the home's wall corner junctions. This contact inevitably becomes extremely abrasive since the various hoses must be pulled and retracted during repositioning of the cleaning equipment over the course of the job at hand.
Conventionally, in order to prevent damage to the corners at wall junctions, many professional carpet cleaning service providers employ removably engageable corner guards. The guards are conventionally formed with a right angle and include a base portion such that the guard can be placed on the floor at the corner junction. Often these devices are made from plastic or metal such that the hose can easily pass over them as the hose is being drawn to the desire room. The plastic or metal surface of the engaged guard, protects the underlying drywall or other painted or textured wall surface from damage from the contact with the hoses during the job. Other examples of corner guards are found in prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,968 to Olsen et. al. teaches a surface mounted wall guard for protecting wall corners which slidably engages onto mounts which are engaged to the wall. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,318 teaches a corner guard for protecting the lowermost, or baseboard portion of a wall corner. US. Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0000177A1 to Dugger teaches a corner guard having a ledge portion for covering the corner and adjacent baseboard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,754 to Jensen teaches a removably engageable corner guard employing magnets.
A common problem with these and similar corner devices, is that they are not adapted for employment around a corner abutting two uneven floor surfaces such as that which occurs at the junction of a floor surface and an adjacent stair step. Often in home and commercial buildings, stairwells or staircases start around a wall corner junction such that the leading edge of the first stair is substantially flush or adjacent with the junction. Therefor, conventional corner guards cannot be employed as they do not accommodate the elevated stair step adjacent the corner. Conventional floor guards require an even positioning between the two protective surfaces or they will tip over. While an adhesive might be employed to hold conventional guards upright, this is not desirable as it will cause staining or marring of the wall surface, and the guard will still not protect the wall at uneven surface areas.
As such, there is a continuing unmet need for a corner guard device which will be held in operational positioning sitting upon two adjacent uneven floor surfaces. Such a device should be configured to protect the wall corner junction from abrasive and impacting contacts from hoses and other equipment which might contact the wall or corner surfaces. Such a device should provide means to engage around a corner and adjacent stair steps and protect the underlying wall with translatable portions to allow the user to selectively adjust the protective surfaces of the device, for varying elevations of many types of stair steps.
The forgoing examples of related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive, and they do not imply any limitations on the invention described and claimed herein. Various limitations of the related art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the specification below and the accompanying drawings.